Scammers use carbon tax repeal to target consumers

Reporter

Scammers are attempting to steal money and identity details from consumers by taking advantage of the carbon price repeal, the ACCC has warned.

In the last week the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has had six reports of scammers calling or emailing consumers and small businesses, asking them to pay a fee to gain access to carbon tax refunds of up to $7000.

Deputy chairwoman of the ACCC Delia Rickard said scammers commonly look for topical issues to which they can attach a reclaim scam.

“We usually see a spike in July because it’s tax time and we saw it with the solar rebates,” she said.

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“Now with the announcement of the carbon tax repeal, scammers will think people are more susceptible to believing the scam, by saying they are from an energy company or legitimate entity.”

The ACCC has received nearly 8000 reports of reclaim scams to date this year, in which scammers contact consumers out of the blue to say they are entitled to a refund, but an initial fee is required.

By the end of July over $356,000 has been reported to the ACCC as lost by consumers through reclaim scams.

Ms Rickard said consumers need to think twice in relation to any alleged carbon tax refunds or other reclaim scams.

“Our one message is to remember that no energy company or government body is going to contact you out of the blue and ask you to pay money, any refunds will come direct through your energy provider,” she said.

She also warned consumers to take care when clicking on links in emails as it can lead to a malware download.

“They will commit identity theft at the same time as infecting your computer and getting your money. It’s a three-pronged attack,” she said.

“It looks to be as much around identity theft as anything else. The majority of the calls we’ve been getting have been people being telephoned by someone saying they are from the government and asking people questions like their grandmother's maiden name, or their birth date.”

Ms Rickard urged people to check the ACCC's SCAMwatch and use caution before transferring funds or releasing personal information.